Berra Yazar-Klosinski, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer of the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation. Dr. Yazar-Klosinski is responsible for development of strategic, catalytic, and capacity-building activities to facilitate research on the risk/benefit profile of psychedelics in compliance with the global regulatory landscape. She has been actively involved in the various stages of nonclinical and clinical development of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, LSD-assisted psychotherapy, cannabis, and ibogaine.

After gaining experience in clinical research laboratories with Geron Corporation and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Yazar-Klosinski joined MAPS in 2009 to work with an organization where profit wouldn't dictate the agenda of scientific research. Over the last 12 years, she has supported MAPS clinical research and regulatory affairs through all stages of growth. Dr. Yazar-Klosinski has developed a strong track record of success with FDA, state regulatory agencies and multiple regulatory agencies outside of the USA.

Dr. Yazar-Klosinski earned her B.S. in Biology with a minor in Drama from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2010. She is a Turkish hunter-gatherer who is supporting the growth of her family and pets in harmony with the natural world as she works tirelessly to transform the future.